Category Archives: Resistance By All Means Necessary

I like many of you were saddened to hear of the death of Nelson Mandela, a man who stuck to his unshakeable beliefs and principles in the most trying of circumstances, becoming the focal point of a struggle that would eventually break the apartheid era regime in South Africa.

Instead of writing about the great man himself, what I want to talk about firstly is the impact he had on me personally and to then look at the sickening levels of hypocrisy shown by the political and media classes who have cynically abused his death as an opportunity to gain some desperately needed cachet.

As a child of the 1980’s, one of my first realisations of political action were seeing my parents close down their bank accounts with Barclays Bank for their support of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Before my tenth birthday, I had become accustomed to checking the labels on our fruits and vegetables, if it came from “The Cape” or from companies that were operating in South Africa, then they were not bought.

These were my early roots of being politicised, as an act of solidarity to those in South Africa.

The Boycott Divestment & Sanctions broke the back of the apartheid regime in South Africa & the exact same thing can happen in Israel.

The western narrative has become of a saintly Nelson Mandela that turned the other cheek, that there is no room for his type of radical politics.

Today, as you see whitewashed images of a post-prison, unarmed, grandfatherly Nelson Mandela, please remember that he was someone who had the pride and courage to take up arms against his oppressor. Mandela fought in a guerilla war against white supremacy in South Africa, as did many others all across the world. It was the CIA that alerted the South African authorities to Mandela’s location, which is what led to his 27 years behind bars and the medical condition which felled him today. The American government was responsible for that crime.

So when you see the likes of Obama and his fellow politicians crying their crocodile tears later today remember that today, they imprison the modern day Mandela’s, that they murder the modern day Mandela’s with their drone strikes, remember that these are the politicians that arm the apartheid government of Israel to wreak war and destruction in Palestine and that these are the politicians that do everything they can to crush the kind of dissenting voice that Nelson Mandela stood for.

Our very own David Cameron (probably Gideon Osbourne & Boris Johnson) was part of the Conservative Federation of Students in 1985 when they produced this “Hang Mandela” poster

Conservative Home had a bit more of a realism to their piece “Mandela and the Right” where they stated, without attempting to deny their previous hatred of Mandela:

“In some quarters of the Right when I was a student, there was sympathy for apartheid (on the racist ground that black people are the inferiors of others) and, in a few cases, outright support. It felt foul then, and the memory of it is no nicer now.”

After Nelson Mandela was released from prison he wrote an open letter to (one of Rupert Murdoch’s key lieutenants at the Murdoch owned New York Times) the unashamed zionist propagandist Thomas Friedman, stating:

“The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established “normally” and happened to occupy another country in 1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a “state” but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa”

Not only was Nelson Mandela listed as a terrorist by both Reagan’s US & Thatcher’s UK Governments, but his party, the African National Congress, or the ANC, was listed as a terrorist organisation.

How many of today’s terrorists in future will be remembered as ‘brave apartheid fighters,’ or ‘brave freedom fighters?’

Mandela was openly welcomed and coveted the world over by kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents.

Yet how was it that so called “great leaders” like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan designated Nelson Mandela a ‘terrorist,’ and his party, a ‘terrorist organisation?’ for simply wanting self determination from the white, European colonial powers and to give back the indigenous people back their land and their rights, in their own country.

In no way will any parts of this interview be aired in the U.S. or mainstream corporate media.

The crack-down on the internet is spurred from many quarters, one of them is to censor content such as this.

There’s no Arabic word for “Take-Away food” (I wonder if you spotted it?) otherwise the translation was very good.

I’ll let you make your own conclusions on the interview, from a man who is denied air time on the western media. We cry loudly about the great freedom of speech we have and at the same time block Al-Manar from broadcasting and even blocking their twitter account – thanks Israel.

I haven’t seen so many bad elements of journalism incorporated into one article since The News of The World went out of business.

Firstly there is an element of competition between two rival media outlets, and if one side gets a big scoop, the other has to respond by dismissing it. Sadly, it’s becoming an ugly side of journalism that is becoming much more common.

For those with a memory will remember that The Guardian did it with the Murdoch Phone-hacking Scandal, running it for weeks on end. Not that it shouldn’t have been reported but there was a clear “conflict of interest” underpinning Britain’s second-best selling Newspaper (The Guardian) attacking Britain’s best selling Newspaper (The News of the World) until it was shut down.

The second bad journalism element is the “personel vendetta” that I charge The Guardian with running.

Less then two years ago The Guardian was working with Julian Assange and calling him a hero.

Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike for 66 days against his “administrative detention” by Israel without charge or trial. His fight for the rights of Palestinian political prisoners has garnered mass support from Amnesty International stating “Israeli authorities have revealed no evidence justifying his continued detention.”

The online campaign via Twitter using the hashtag #HungerStrikingfor65days was the strongest hashtag yet, tens of thousands tweeted using that hashtag and it remained the #1 globally trending topic. Social media has got millions of people to pay attention to Khader Adnan’s case online.

For as long as I can remember, The West & Israel have continually stated the Palestinians should forego any means of armed resistance for “non violent” peaceful demonstration.

Many have continually asked where the Palestinian Ghandhi’s are?

With armed resistance against Israel at an all time low, despite continual bombings and assassinations carried out with impunity by israeli death squads, Palestinians have not reacted in any forceful manner.

This israeli policy of “administrative detention” is no different to the internment policy used by the apartheid era South African government. Khader Adnan is one case, but israel holds men, women and children in prison. Many, like Khader, have no charges made against them and are imprisoned on an indefinite basis.

No due process, no habeas corpus, no justice, a crime in itself from the self styled “Only democracy in the Middle East”.

Recently I’ve been re-reading Joe Sacco’s Palestine a moving comic/graphic novel that captures the issues of Palestine in a very simple and yet compelling manner. I’d go as far as to say that if you know someone who knows absolutely nothing about Palestine, give them this book to read and you’ll have a Pro-Palestine advocate on your hands.

There was a chapter in the book titled “The tough & the dead” which I’ve embedded below. This is what typically happens to the people that israel puts through it’s indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial, that it gives the innocuous sounding term “administrative detention”.

It is wholly relevant to what our political prisoners like Khader Adnan are put through:

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I am updating the blog on a regular weekly basis and would like to thank my regular readers for their patience over my haphazard output recently. If you wish to engage with me on a daily basis, the please follow me on twitter @HotterThanCurry

“He’s not concerned with the politics, he doesn’t want to make a statement, he doesn’t want to do any media at all, actually, but… he’s here.”

Rather says it all.

But then again, for every corporate leech, there’s someone like Immortal Technique:

“People say, ‘You know what? I want concrete solutions. I want people held accountable for what they did wrong. I want governments to realize that they’re not just going to get a free pass for their horrific record of human rights, even if you’re supported by America, because we have deals to exploit your natural resources.’ I think that that’s what people are genuinely concerned with here.”

I have spent enough time in America to know that lard ass yanks would only get up and get angry when they didn’t have money to fuel up their gas guzzlers or the extra 50 cents to supersize their McD’s.

The Akh is getting plenty of messages to come down to the spreading occupation movement, this time at the London Stock Exchange, but I won’t be attending.

For my Jummah Khutbah (Friday reminder) The Akh wishes to share with you the words of Damascus’s Shaykh Muhammed al-Yaqoubi, a righteous scholar who has shown he follows the true principles of Islam by by not siding with the rulers but with the people to show that their should be no fear on the choice of resistance.

The Akh has been very critical of our Ulema and their glowing endorsement for corrupt leaderships the world over – especially for the morally bankrupt house of frauds.

There is no doubt that there is a massive role for the Ulema to play in leading the Ummah, by giving Muslims the correct Islamic direction. Through their silence however, the Muslim people have been left with no other choice but to take to the streets, to demand the rights bestowed upon them by Allah Az’Wajjal and to remove the oppressive conditions that have been constricted them for decades.

While Shaykhs up and down this country have been telling people not to question their leaders, the Islamic rulings on demonstrations and how they are obligatory to remove these heinous conditions are set out with existing Fatawa’s, but they are conveniently overlooked.

National unity is a must, with all groups amongst the people pull in the same direction to demand the lifting of the oppressive conditions and the establishment of justice, so that the country and its people are above all other political considerations and not to be held hostage to the influence of any foreign power (Western foreign policy).

The Ulema have to take a courageous stance, there is no doubt that Muslims are looking at their Islamic leaders for advice like they have never done before, people are waiting on the words of scholars before taking any action. You can see this as most demonstrations start from the Masajid, Shaykh’s have a huge role in shaping public opinion.

Islam and the Prophets (Peace be upon all of them) never wanted us to surrender to injustice;

Hadith

“The best of all martyrs are Hamzah (ibn Abdul-Muttalib) and a man who stood before an unjust leader, commanding him to do right and avoid evil, so the leader killed him.” [al-Haakim]

Then he the Prophet continued: “Nay, by Allah, you either enjoin good and forbid evil and catch hold of the hand of the oppressor and persuade him to act justly and stick to the truth, or, Allah will involve the hearts of some of you with the hearts of others and curse you as he had cursed them” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]

Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (pbuh) said, “The best type of jihad is speaking a true word in the presence of a tyrant ruler” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]

Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of faith” [Muslim]

Abu-Bakr As-Siddiq (RA) said that he heard the Prophet (pbuh) saying “When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from (doing evil) then it is likely that Allah will punish them all” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]

Quran

You are now the best people brought forth for (the guidance and reform of) mankind.You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.[Ale-Imran 110]

…….We rescued those who forbade evil and afflicted the wrong-doers with a grievous chastisement because of their evildoing. [Al-Araf 165]

Allah says to Musa (AS) “And go to Pharaoh now for he has transgressed all bounds. [Taha 24]”

“Political authority and religion are kin brothers, neither would stand but by its companion; because religion is the foundation of political power and its pillar, and political power is the guardian of religion; political power is not established with a foundation, and religion cannot be implemented without authority.”

Insh’Allah you’ll be off to the Masajid in a few hours, if your Shaykh is not addressing these issues, then ask him politely why?

Until the mimbars in our masajids do not reverberate and the hearts of the believers do not resonate with the power of words like his, the Muslim Ummah will remain oppressed and the Muslim leaders will remain tyrannical.

Saudi Shaykh, Salman Al-`Awdah, was banned from travelling from Saudi Arabia. He was not allowed to attend a conference in Egypt. Apparently, he offended the kingdom when he praised all Arab revolutions and said that not one Arab country would be spared.

Since December, musicians have been responding to — and provoking — the protests in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, and much of the music being made about these movements is hip-hop.

Some of these songs have played a direct role in popular uprisings, while others have helped galvanize international support. Songs are rapped in both English and Arabic, and international collaborations have helped to spread the music over the Internet, via Facebook and YouTube.

If you go back to the early days of rap, its whole culture was created by the era’s disaffected inner-city youth. Nowadays, this outspoken form of entertainment has itself been distorted and made redundant by the very street culture that implemented it; instead of expressing a disenfranchised youth, hip hop artists exploit it.

It’s interesting to see how artists are adopting the former approach, to use their voices to wax lyrical about modern-day political strife – except on a global level rather than urban.

Here’s five of the best tracks:

Khaled M, Libya: “Can’t Take Our Freedom (feat. LowKey)”

Rapper Khaled M was born in the U.S. after his parents fled the regime of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. For “Can’t Take Our Freedom” he raps in English, drawing on the story of his father, a poet imprisoned by Gadhafi who fled with his family to Lexington, Kentucky, while also referencing the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

“#Jan25 Egypt” was made by Arab-Americans, African-Americans and Canadians, most of whom were living in the U.S. at the time of the Egyptian Revolution. Syrian rapper Omar Offendum told Al Jazeera he contributed to the song to show “solidarity with the Egyptian people” and told NPR that the “true music of the revolution” was made by protesters on the fly. “#Jan25 Egypt” begins by refuting Gil Scott-Heron’s oft-repeated line: “I heard them say the revolution won’t be televised / Al Jazeera proved them wrong.”

Ibn Thabit, Libya: “Benghazi II”

Rapper Ibn Thabit’s website says he “has been attacking Gaddafi with his music since 2008.” On the site he offers dozens of songs for free, many of which were produced in collaboration with other Libyan rappers, producers and singers, musicians from Egypt and producers and engineers from the U.S.

Arabian Knightz, Egypt: “Rebel (feat. Lauryn Hill)”

Arabian Knightz trade a verse in Arabic for one in English, then allow their song to devolve into a sample of Lauryn Hill singing “I Find It Hard To Say (Rebel)” during her 2002 MTV Unplugged performance, in which the singer rasps “Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel,” over and over again. According to the group’s YouTube channel, they recorded the song in late January, and weren’t able to release it until the government stopped blocking the Internet a couple of weeks later.

El General, Tunisia: “Rayes Le Bled”

Hamada Ben Amor performs under the name El General. His song, “Rayes Le Bled,” which hit Facebook in late December, is a direct indictment of then-president Ben Ali’s rule, specifically, widespread hunger. Ben Amor’s arrest in early January sparked further protests in the already turbulent country, and when the revolution ended, “Rayes Le Bled” could be heard on radio stations across the country.

"Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil & believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah hears & knows all things."
(The Qur'an, Al-Baqara, 2: 256)

“Political authority & religion are kin brothers, neither would stand but by its companion; because religion is the foundation of political power & its pillar, & political power is the guardian of religion; political power is not established with a foundation & religion cannot be implemented without authority.”
- Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

"War is not merely a political act, but also a political instrument, a continuation of political relations, a carrying out of the same by other means" - Clausewitz

"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."
(The Qur'an, Al Hujurat, 49: 13)